Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Panera Bread
Panera Bread
Student Name
University
Unit Code
Lecturer
Submission Date
Panera Breads 2
1. What does a SWOT analysis of Panera Bread reveal about the overall
attractiveness of its situation? Does the company have any core competencies or
distinctive competencies?
The SWOT analysis is a crucial technique for assessing a business's overall status. A
firm or business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are listed. This is
significant to the management because it offers them the chance to address their areas of
developing the necessary plans to make the most of its advantages. The following
conclusions concerning the circumstance at Panera Bread are made with the aid of this tool:
Strengths
Panera Bread's expertise in bread baking and high-quality bread products are its major
strengths. In order to provide high-quality meals at a reasonable price, Panera uses only very
goods that appeal to a wide spectrum of consumers. Due to the absence of lipids and other
ingredients like gluten, the products are healthy for all consumers. Panera has a strong brand
identity because it is present in 45 US states, Ontario, and the Colombian region and in 2016,
the company was regarded as a clear leader in the fast casual industry, a position it has
maintained until 2021 (Eckhardt & Dobscha, 2018). Panera has a good customer satisfaction
rating. As a highly regarded fast-casual restaurant, Panera has won praise and awards for its
performance. It also has a large customer base that includes schools and events because of its
offsite services. Lastly, it has a solid financial base that allows it to grow and expand.
Weaknesses
Panera Breads 3
Strong brands such as Starbucks compete with Panera. Panera does not have an
international presence because it only operates in the United States and North America. Its
brand name lags behind those of its competitors. Panera Breads also lacks diversification in
its offering and operation and therefore, its customer base is limited. According to (Eckhardt
& Dobscha, 2018), the company was faced with some law suits that saw it lose its brand
name to rivals.
Opportunities
Panera Breads has a possibility of expanding to all 50 states in the US. It also has an
opportunity to create more supper options to outperform its rivals. In 2016, Panera Breads
grew from 2000 locations to 2076 stations and this shows that the company has a lot of room
for growth. The statistics done by the National Restaurant Association in 2015 showed that
over 68% of consumers were interested in locally produced food and this offers Panera
Breads an opportunity for growth. Lastly, Panera Breads has an opportunity to diversify its
Threats
The food industry is highly competitive. Imitation from competitors on the menu
items is also a major threat to Panera. There is also a threat from new entrants into the food
industry that provide new culinary items that people like. There is also a low performance of
the economy in the US and this is affecting its success. Panera Breads was also affected by
the global pandemic of Covid 19 in 2020-2021 when the effects were dire since the lockdown
imposed by the authorities affected its revenues and it had to be turned into a grocery to
mitigate the risks. Climate change that is also present in the global word has affected food
supply and this has posed as the biggest threat to the company.
Panera Breads 4
Core Competency
activity that forms the core of its business strategy. A distinctive competency makes a
business compete against its rivals. The main core competency by Panera is its baking
expertise and a friendly environment. Their distinctive competency is its artisan quality and
the provision of ingredients that are free of additives. This distinguishes Panera from its
competitors. The SWOT analysis of Panera is a strong one as it has more strengths and few
weaknesses that need improving. The external threats Panera faces are modest.
the two companies utilizing competitive analysis principles and practices. Which
In my case, I made a comparison between Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
From the analysis, there exists several similarities which include: the two restaurants use high
grade quality ingredients in their menu. The other similarity is that the two are active in
expanding into new locations and thirdly, the two have a strong financial power which has
enabled them to prosper. This said, I find that Panera Breads is much prepared to be a force to
reckon in the fast casual restaurant business since it has a stable performance and continuous
growth since 2010 after the recession that was reported between 2008-2009. Panera is
therefore a clear leader in this industry. It also offers artisan goods that are special to the
customers and this ensures that the customers are satisfied with their services which leads to
loyalty. Lastly, Panera is not recovering from the national crisis of a food virus that was
reported.
Panera Breads 5
your perspectives
Panera Bread has a social responsibility of giving back to the society. It gives back to the
local community where it operates and an example is when it donates millions of dollars in
some of its unbaked product in its Day End Dough Nation program. The bakery has good
motives to feed and help people in need especially in this world that food security is
becoming an issue. Panera operates in middle class to wealthy places and this has lowered the
number of people who can participate in Pay-What-You-Want bakery café. I concur with the
decision from its leadership to do away with the program and to strategize on its social
responsibility roles.
4. What strategic issues and problems does Panera Bread management need to
address?
Panera Breads has a number of strategic difficulties, including low dinner sales in
comparison to competitors such as Starbucks the dinner has been low historically to help
meet the cost of managing them and this has been a worry to Panera. Better menu items will
increase its supper sales as it seeks to beat the competitors. Another strategic challenge is the
company's poor growth and diminishing profits. The bakery must double-check its earnings
projections and make them work. Furthermore, the corporation must solve the issue of why
franchise stores earn more profit than corporate stores, and last, they must sell their brand in
the media to ensure that it is recognized globally. This will provide an opportunity for them
to change the perception people have on their dinner. Panera is also having issues in terms of
location since it lacks its cafes near its competitors such as Starbucks.
Panera Breads 6
In 2019, Panera Breads lost over 100% of its workers and this was a trend until the
Covid-19 pandemic came to the country (Stowell & Katz, 2019). This turned the Panera
Bread joints into groceries as its operations were crippled. Competition from McDonald’s in
2019 and 2020 has also been an issue as it added more kiosks that ate deep into the market
share of Panera Breads. The global competition has made the strategic well being of Panera
References
Eckhardt, G., & Dobscha, S. (2018). The Consumer Experience of Responsibilization: The
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3795-4
Stowell, D., & Katz, A. (2019). The Panera Bread LBO. Kellogg School Of Management